OPENING BELL: US stocks posting early gains

Back from a long weekend, traders are pushing markets higher with technology and consumer-focused companies.

The Associated Press

MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are starting higher Monday as investors get back to trading after the Easter holiday weekend. Technology and consumer-focused companies are making some of the largest gains after the Chinese government said that country's economy grew at a slightly faster pace in the first quarter. Health care and energy companies are lagging the market.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 9 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,338 as of 10:10 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 88 points, or 0.4 percent, to 20,541. The Nasdaq composite picked up 27 points, or 0.5 percent, to 5,832. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks edged up 4 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,350. Stocks have declined three weeks out of the last four.

Early leaders included chipmaker Nvidia, which gained $2.32, or 2.4 percent, to $97.81, and Google parent company Alphabet, which picked up $8.17, or 1 percent, to $949.35. Among consumer companies, online retail giant Amazon jumped $8.13 to $892.80 and streaming video company Netflix added $2.95, or 2.1 percent, to $145.87.

CHINA: China's recovering economy appeared to get stronger in the first quarter, as it grew 6.9 percent compared to a year ago. That was a slightly faster pace than the quarter before. The world's second-largest economy grew at its slowest pace in almost 30 years in 2016. Policies aimed at tempering the slowdown included higher spending on construction of infrastructure such as roads and bridges. Relatively cheap credit spurred booming property sales. The official full-year economic growth target for 2017 is 6.5 percent.

LET'S NOT SPLIT UP: Medical device maker Alere surged after it accepted a new, lower buyout offer from Abbott Laboratories. Abbott will pay $51 a share, or about $5.3 billion. Abbott agreed to buy Alere more than a year ago for $56 per share, or $5.8 billion, but filed a lawsuit to end the deal after Alere recalled a key product, delayed filing a financial statement, and faced an investigation into its business outside the U.S.

Alere climbed $6.94, or 16.4 percent, to $49.25. It had traded as low as $31.47 last July as investors worried the deal would fall apart. Abbott rose 29 cents to $42.96.

ACHES AND PAINS: Eli Lilly stumbled after the Food and Drug Administration refused to approve its much-anticipated pill for the immune disorder rheumatoid arthritis. The FDA said it wants more information about the safety of Olumiant and the best doses for the drug. The drug was approved in Europe in February and Lilly has high hopes for it because it's a pill instead of an injection like most other new rheumatoid arthritis drugs. It's the second drug development setback for Lilly since November and its stock lost $3.42, or 4 percent, to $82.46.